Christmas 2019

Leave a comment

bb0e9ce2-b050-4db3-a566-e690027e908b.jpg

Over the last 5 months that we have lived in Iowa, we have seen a lot of things, none bigger than the Iowa State Fair pig champion named Captain.  Captain, tipped the scales at 1254 pounds!  He was huge.  Pigs are a big thing in Iowa, they raise more pigs (22.7 million) than any other state (2ndplace is NC with 8.6 million). In Iowa that means pigs outnumber people 7-1.  On my (Mark) many drives around Iowa I have seen many pig farms and also many of the 3 million plus people that call this great state home. 

eab1f0cb-8207-4100-bb2d-e88e2e5443d3.jpg
This picture is taken right outside our window and each day it reminds us of Gods beauty and his calling on our life.  Our family is here to bring the gospel to as many of those 3 million people that don’t know Jesus as we can.   As we approach the celebration of Jesus coming to earth as a human, I wanted to remember our purpose as believers is to join God on this mission of reconciling all people to the Father through the Son.

2 Cor 5-18-20
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;  that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

5638b54a-be82-4c03-be0e-d55b0b9d1aec.jpg
I am excited to introduce you to Alex and Marcus.                                                            New Church Partner:
Alex Vasquez is our Area Director in Sioux Center (NW Iowa). Marcus DeWeerd is our new church partner that we just hired to start a WyldLife club (Jr. High ministry).  I meet with both of these guys regularly as we seek to strategize how best to reach students that don’t know Jesus.  Marcus is currently raising support and hopes to be done in a couple of months.  Please pray that God would help Alex and Marcus reach students for Jesus in Northwest Iowa.  In the coming newsletters I will introduce you to more of the people that I work with to reach students in the Heartland Region.

Potential new places for ministry with Young Life:
We have been praying that God would connect us with people that love Him and love students so that we can begin to establish new Young Life areas in Iowa and Illinois.  Some of the cities we are currently praying for are Ft. Dodge, Cedar Falls, Decatur, Springfield, Pella, Moline, and Bettendorf. Please join us in prayer for these cities!

YoungLives Update:
I (Liz) have been meeting with people over the past few months and sharing the vision for YoungLives. I’ve been taking a Field Leadership Training course for YoungLives along with other YoungLives Coordinators and learning a lot in preparation for this role.  I will be starting a prayer team in January with a group of women as we seek God’s guidance in reaching out to teen moms in Des Moines. 

08cf7245-decb-4089-88ad-96c239f3f6f0.jpg

We are thankful that Jaden and Josiah are continuing to adjust well to our new home.  This month has been fun re-introducing them to some American Christmas traditions again.  We are truly grateful for each of you in our lives and the friendships that you represent. Merry Christmas!

Items for prayer:
Family: Praising God for how well all 4 of us have transitioned so far.  Please continue too pray as we seek to build friendships and relationships with those around us. 

Potential new places for ministry with Young Life:
Please join us as we pray for God to move in these cities to establish Young Life:  Ft. Dodge, Cedar Falls, Decatur, Springfield, Pella, Moline, and Bettendorf. Please join us in prayer for these cities!

YoungLives: Pray for God to stir women’s hearts towards mentoring teen moms.  Provide avenues for us to meet with teen moms.  That God would already begin softening hearts of teen moms towards Himself.

 

Leave a comment